U.S. Army Corps explains reasoning behind Lake O releases to Martin County commissioners

The Martin County Health Department released a statement Tuesday reporting "higher than normal bacteria levels" in the St. Lucie River at the Roosevelt Bridge. Citizens were urged to avoid contact with the enteric bacteria, which causes upset stomach, diarrhea, eye irritation and skin rashes.

Martin County Director of Environmental Health Bob Washam said bacterial levels tend to rise when there have been releases from Lake Okeechobee.

However, Washam said he couldn't directly correlate the recent releases to the increased bacteria levels.

"There are a lot of waterways and canals that are released into the St. Lucie River, but that might be one of the sources," Washam said.

WPTV contributed to this report

STUART — Martin County commissioners looked to the U.S. Army Corps Tuesday to explain the reasoning behind the Corps' controversial decision to double the Lake Okeechobee water releases into the St. Lucie Estuary.

Lt. Col. Tom Greco, the Jacksonville district deputy commander, cited the unusually high rainfall and lack of water storage to the north and south of the lake as the primary reasons for the daily 1.2 billion gallons of freshwater release.

"The wetter it gets, the more limited we are in terms of our decision making," Greco said.

Commissioners have spoken out recently about the adverse effects of the polluted freshwater releases from the lake, which wildlife experts such as Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Center say harms oysters, sea grasses and other wildlife and makes it hazardous for people to swim in the estuary.

"What we recognize here is we recognize what our damage is, and it's instantaneous," Commissioner Doug Smith said. "Literally overnight you can tell what happens."

Although Greco acknowledged the commissioners' concerns, Greco said the Corps' options are limited for water storage and with Lake Okeechobee at its highest water level since 2005 at about 16 feet, the releases were necessary to stabilize the continued rise of the lake.

"The higher we raise (in water levels), the greater the threats to the dike become," Greco said. "But more importantly, just the overall capacity of Lake Okeechobee to withstand another storm becomes limited."

He cited three objectives for the water releases into the estuary: to stabilize the continued rise of the lake, to ensure storage capacity for the remainder of the wet season, and to retain water for the upcoming dry season.

Greco said more water couldn't be stored to the north in the Kissimmee water basins because they were within inches of a very limited capacity. He said two of the three Water Conservation Areas to the south were already above capacity.

"We provide them (the basins and water conservation areas) flood protection just as we are seeking to provide flood protection to those communities surrounding Lake Okeechobee," he said.

Greco said in addition to the issues of storage, the Corps still have to deal with the upcoming rainfall for the rest of the wet season.

"Florida is above average rainfall or precipitation expected for at least the next three months," he said.

It's with these concerns in mind, Greco said, that the Corps made the decision for the initial releases and then to double the release amounts into the St. Lucie Estuary.

"We began releases at approximately half of what was allowed. The rationale there was to take a look at it and see what effect that would have," Greco said. "We were hoping it would have a significant effect, but as time progressed, it started getting wetter and the lake continued to rise a lot faster than we'd anticipated."

Commissioners said they were thankful to Greco for taking the time to present the decision-making process, but it did little to alleviate the pressure from citizens about the damage the water releases is doing to Martin County's waterways.

"There are a lot of statements made about what's happening quality-wise with water — where it's coming from, where it's going to, and who's to blame for what," Smith said. "But at the end of the day, all that our residents really see and understand is that the river now is brown ... And it wasn't two months ago."

ARMY CORPS DECISION-MAKING CONSIDERATIONS

CONCERN: Herbert Hoover Dike

CONSIDERATIONS: Public health and safety; regional and national economy

CONCERN: Lake ecology

CONSIDERATIONS: Plant-life; threatened and endangered species; regional and national economy